Obituary of Frank W. Pantages

FRANK W. PANTAGES ``Losing after great striving is the story of man, who was born to sorrow, whose sweetest songs tell of saddest thought, and who, if he is a hero, does nothing in life as becomingly as leaving it.'' author Roger Kahn Just two weeks away from his 87th birthday, Frank William Pantages bid goodbye to planet Earth with his best snappy 4th Infantry salute. He joined his infant daughter, brothers, sisters and parents in heaven where his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, went before to prepare his place. "If it were not so, I would have told you." (John 14:2) He died from a long illness, or short illness, depending on which illness or which time period family members cared to bring up. There were plenty of candidates for that topic of conversation -- from his longtime fondness for the tastes of life, to tuberculosis and a nine-month Veterans Administration hospital stay ... But in the end, he almost made it to 87. As a family friend said with a big smile, ``Who wouldn't trade for that? Where do I sign up?'' His name said ``Frank'' on the birth certificate -- but was it his first name or middle name? There were doubts raised when actual documentation was needed in his elderly years and daughter-in-law Carvel played Joe Mannix for weeks tracking down original papers and baptism records from Fayette County and a Greek Orthodox Church in Western Pennsylvania. Maybe his name was William Frank Pantages instead. If so, he would be ``Junior,'' named for his dad. After all, Greek godfathers bestowed the name on the children. But what is life without some mystery? He was known as Pop to sons Lawrence (Carvel) and Martin, or Bop to his five grandchildren -- Celeste (Brad) Wagner, Cassandra (Matthew) Brenn, Alexander, William and Nicholas. He was the youngest of five born to William and Mary Pantages, coming March 28, 1924, after sisters Stella and Pearl and brothers James and Gus. He was known only as Billy to Evelyn Ruth Gretta, his Slovak bride of 57-plus years who serenaded him with polka music on the accordion, piano music and singing show tunes. She fed him stuffed cabbage and ham every holiday from birthdays to Easter to Christmas to anniversaries. ``Don't ask him what he wants, just put it in front of him and he'll eat it,'' she said. To his 1942 East High classmates, World War II winning teammates, and later thousands of East Akron friends and tavern customers at the General Cafe and later Leo's Cafe from 1946 to 1984, he was jovially known as Pee Wee, Willie, Private First Class, Leo, Barkeep, Horse Player, Football Bettor, Golfer, Bowler, Pool Player, Kistler's Donut Eater, Pinochle Partner, Euchre Partner, the 50-year St. John Lutheran Church Usher, -- and, how can we forget, Winning Lottery Ticket Seller and, just possibly, Frank to the bill collectors and mail carriers. He was loyal to the bartender profession to the Nth degree, serving as part-time marriage counselor, loan officer, credit authorizer, confidant and taxi-cab dispatcher. At 2:30 a.m. when the house lights came up and ``Last Call'' was sounded, nobody ever wanted to leave. He was a one-man employment agency to those in need. He knew people at the rubber shops in management, in the union, at the bank, at the credit union, at other taverns, at the beer delivery companies, at the vendor businesses all over town. When a small potato chip company wanted him to offer their products, he happily agreed and didn't sell the big-name company. ``Why not give a little guy a chance?'' he asked. He never met a cigar he couldn't enjoy, chomping on his custom plastic holder. He never saw a joke or comedy sketch on television by Ernie Kovacs that didn't make him laugh. He never took a pen to a crossword that he couldn't finish. He learned that from his American immigrant mother Mary Strauch Pantages, whose broken English and vocabulary improved greatly, he said, by doing puzzles every day. He never saw an expiration date on a milk carton that he couldn't ignore or thought a donut was too stale to eat. He never drove a car he couldn't damage -- from his early 1950s Cadillac with power windows that stopped going up and down; to his two-tone green and gold DeSoto Fireflite in the late 1950s that wouldn't go in reverse and needed a blue driver's door; to his compact Plymouth Valiant in the 1960s with the push-button transmission and the left-front cave-in that made that driver's door useless too; to an Oldsmobile Cutlass in the 1970s that had a blown engine ... ah, the list is too long to continue, but they were all American cars to be sure. After one occasion when he backed his car into the side of the house, he said flatly, ``It's my house. If I want to hit it, I'll hit it.'' He never talked about World War II much until sharing small stories and anecdotes in recent years as a member of The Greatest Generation. His military honors included the Combat Infantry Badge, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Presidential Unit Emblem, Meritorious Unit Emblem, Valorous Unit Emblem, EAME Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, Bronze Arrowhead, French Fourragere, Army of Occupation Medal and Good Conduct Medal. He never liked a movie more than ``Battleground'' with Van Johnson and James Whitmore leading a squad of heroes at the Battle of Bastogne. ``That's pretty close to what it was really like,'' he said quietly. During the movie, the squad finds a farmhouse and Johnson takes some eggs from the chicken coop. During a short burst of calm, Johnson breaks the eggs and scrambles them, but never gets to eat them when Whitmore suddenly barks to the squad that they have to move out smartly. During the marching scenes of the squad, they chant, ``You had a good home, but you left. You're right. Jody was there when you left. You're right. Sound off -- one-two. Sound off -- three-four. Sound off -- one, two, three, four ... one-two ... three-four !'' But for his sons, raised in a simpler time, too young for Vietnam but not too young to have spirited discussions about Nixon, long hair, liberal and conservative thinking, the bunt vs. the 3-run homer, how to get Greg Pruitt the football where he could do something with it .. and, oh yes, long before Fox News and Keith Olbermann ... it always came back to the eggs. For years on the anniversary of D-Day (he was dropped off as an 8th Division replacement on Normandy six days after the invasion) ... on the anniversary of the liberation of Paris ... crossing into Germany ... being wounded and sent to England ... being healed and sent back for the Bulge ... the wonders of V-E day ... the return to Akron ... the dread of being sent to the Pacific and going AWOL for 3 days ... and the discharge with honors ... he would be teased just one more time about ``beating eggs in his helmet'' as the Army way of life. He would just keep the horrors of war to himself. God knows the heroism he displayed and that's enough for us. We owe a debt we can never repay. But his humility was ever present. "So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.' " (Luke 17:10) And so we say goodbye to a loving son, husband, father, grandfather, soldier, servant and friend to all the world. When Martin Luther was asked what he would do if it was his last day on earth, he said, ``I would plant a tree.'' So everybody, mark Billy Pantages' life and death today by lifting a glass, lighting a candle, planting a tree, dancing a polka. Or keep it simple, just beat some eggs. Oh, and have a donut. Heartfelt thanks to the caregivers, aides, nursing staff and administrators at Bath Manor Special Care Center and The Merriman. Visitation will be 2-4 pm and 6-8 pm Friday, March 18 at Kucko-Anthony Funeral Home, 1990 S. Main St., Akron. Funeral service will be at 11 am on Saturday March 19, at St. John Lutheran Church, 550 Wilbeth Rd., Akron. Interment to follow at East Akron Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to St. John Lutheran Church or a stroke charity or research organization of choice.